Jalal Azal

Jalal Azal (d. April 5, 1971) was a grandson of Mírzá Yaḥyá. He approached ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for assistance and for a time he received support from Him and associated with the Bahá’í community, but he later became disaffected, attacked the Bahá’í Faith, and attempted to resurrect his grandfather's religious movement.

Biography

Azal was the son of `Abdu'l-`Ali, who was a son of Mírzá Yaḥyá, and 'Ismat, who was a daughter of Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahání. He was raised on Cyprus. In approximately 1915 he volunteered his services to the British Government for the First World War and he was assigned as a personal assistant and interpreter for the officer running a prisoner-of-war camp in Madras, India. One of the prisoners in the camp was from Baghdad, had been aware of the Bahá’ís there, and upon learning that Azal was related to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá advised him to seek guidance from Him.

In 1920 Azal returned to Cyprus and wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá requesting pemission to visit the Holy Land which was granted. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá secured a position for him with the Palestine Civil Service and he was employed by a land court as a Land Settlement Officer. In 1921 he wrote to his uncle, Ahmad Bahhaj, to recommend that he also seek support from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He also established positive relations with the Bahá’í community corresponding with the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States although he married `Ismat who was the daughter of Mírzá Badi’u’lláh, a son of Bahá’u’lláh who broke the Covenant. In approximately 1948 Azal retuned to Cyprus settling in Famagusta with his wife where he secured a position with a radio monitoring station working for American intelligence agencies.

In the early 1950's Bahá’í pioneers began to settle on Cyprus and Azal became hostile towards the Faith and began actively promoting his grandfather's claims. Although Mírzá Yaḥyá denied Bahá’u’lláh had any legitimacy Azal collaborated with the supporters of Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí in his opposition to the Bahá’í community, including his wife, and also with opponents of Shoghi Effendi, both of which were groups who viewed Bahá’u’lláh as a Manifestation of God. Although they were married and collaborating in their opposition to Shoghi Effendi `Ismat would reportedly mock the claims of Mírzá Yaḥyá even if Azal was present.

From 1950 to 1952 Azal supported a plan to challenge Shoghi Effendi's legal right to develop Bahá’í properties in the Holy Land however Nayyir Afnán, who was to be the star witness in a court case, passed away in 1952 which resulted in the plan stagnating. Azal's efforts culminated in a meeting attended by Azal, his wife, Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb, and others, at which funds were collected to build a mausoleum over the grave of Mírzá Yaḥyá, however the funds went missing and nothing eventuated from the meeting.

In the 1960's Azal assisted Dr. Imani, a writer from Beirut, in his composition of a polemic work attacking the Faith and Imani facilitated communication between Azal and Reverend William Miller. From March 1967 to March 1971 Azal assisted Reverend William Miller in composing a book dedicated to attempting to refute the Faith, although it was also hostile to Mírzá Yaḥyá's claims, and Miller had Azal's materials placed in the Princeton University Library. Azal passed away in April, 1971, due to a cerebral stroke caused by excessive alcohol consumption.